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Soil Quality: A Review Of The Science And Experiences In The Usa, B. J. Wienhold, S. S. Andrews, D. L. Karlen Jun 2017

Soil Quality: A Review Of The Science And Experiences In The Usa, B. J. Wienhold, S. S. Andrews, D. L. Karlen

Douglas L Karlen

An increasing human population is placing greater demand on soil resources, and as a result degradation is taking place in many regions of the world. This is critical because soils perform a number of essential processes including supporting food and fiber production, influencing air quality through interaction with the atmosphere, and serving as a medium for storage and purification of water. The soil quality concept was introduced to complement soil science research by making our understanding of soils more complete and helping guide the use and allocation of labor, energy, fiscal, and other inputs as agriculture intensifies and expands to …


Soil Quality: A Review Of The Science And Experiences In The Usa, Brian J. Wienhold, S.S. Andrews, D.L. Karlen Jun 2017

Soil Quality: A Review Of The Science And Experiences In The Usa, Brian J. Wienhold, S.S. Andrews, D.L. Karlen

Douglas L Karlen

An increasing human population is placing greater demand on soil resources, and as a result degradation is taking place in many regions of the world. This is critical because soils perform a number of essential processes including supporting food and fiber production, influencing air quality through interaction with the atmosphere, and serving as a medium for storage and purification of water. The soil quality concept was introduced to complement soil science research by making our understanding of soils more complete and helping guide the use and allocation of labor, energy, fiscal, and other inputs as agriculture intensifies and expands to …


Recent Advances In Soil Quality Assessment In The United States, Brian J. Wienhold, S.S. Andrews, H. Kuykendall, D.L. Karlen Jun 2017

Recent Advances In Soil Quality Assessment In The United States, Brian J. Wienhold, S.S. Andrews, H. Kuykendall, D.L. Karlen

Douglas L Karlen

Soil quality is a concept that is useful as an educational and assessment tool. A number of assessment tools have been developed including: the Soil Conditioning Index (SCI), the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF), the AgroEcosystem Performance Assessment Tool (AEPAT), and the new Cornell “Soil Health Assessment”. The SMAF and AEPAT were developed as malleable tools for assessing soil response to management. The Cornell Assessment builds on the SMAF approach to score laboratory tests in terms of soil function. This paper updates efforts to improve availability and utility, implementation, and future research goals associated with the SMAF. Additional scoring curves …


Comparison Of Two Soil Quality Indexes To Evaluate Cropping Systems In Northern Colorado, T.M. Zobeck, A.D. Halvorson, Brian J. Wienhold, V. Acosta-Martinez, D.L. Karlen Jun 2017

Comparison Of Two Soil Quality Indexes To Evaluate Cropping Systems In Northern Colorado, T.M. Zobeck, A.D. Halvorson, Brian J. Wienhold, V. Acosta-Martinez, D.L. Karlen

Douglas L Karlen

Various soil management or quality assessment tools have been proposed to evaluate the effects of land management practices on soil, air, and water resources. Two of them are the Soil Management Assessment Framework and the Soil Conditioning Index (SCI). This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the Soil Quality Index (SQI) estimated by the Soil Management Assessment Framework can detect more minute changes in soil management than SCI and to test SCI response to other soil quality (SQ) indicators. These SQ indexes were tested on irrigated cropping systems near Fort Collins, Colorado, that included no-till and conventionally-tilled corn …


Corn Residue Harvesting Effects On Yield Response To N Fertilization, Jose L. Pantoja, John E. Sawyer, Daniel W. Barker, Mahdi Al-Kaisi Jul 2016

Corn Residue Harvesting Effects On Yield Response To N Fertilization, Jose L. Pantoja, John E. Sawyer, Daniel W. Barker, Mahdi Al-Kaisi

John E. Sawyer

Producers have many choices of diverse tillage practices for their corn (Zea mays L.) production systems. However, no-till has become an important soil management practice to help reduce water and wind erosion, as well as nutrient runoff, while conserving soil moisture for crop use. No-till systems also help farmers by saving labor and time, as well as reducing farm costs due to less equipment and fuel consumption. Nevertheless, no-till production is typically more successful and has higher crop yield on moderately to well drained medium-textured soils (Bitzer, 1998), compared to soils with poor internal drainage and high clay.


Corn Residue Harvesting Effects On Yield Response To N Fertilization, Jose L. Pantoja, John E. Sawyer, Daniel W. Barker, Mahdi Al-Kaisi Jul 2016

Corn Residue Harvesting Effects On Yield Response To N Fertilization, Jose L. Pantoja, John E. Sawyer, Daniel W. Barker, Mahdi Al-Kaisi

John E. Sawyer

Producers have many choices of diverse tillage practices for their corn (Zea mays L.) production systems. However, no-till has become an important soil management practice to help reduce water and wind erosion, as well as nutrient runoff, while conserving soil moisture for crop use. No-till systems also help farmers by saving labor and time, as well as reducing farm costs due to less equipment and fuel consumption. Nevertheless, no-till production is typically more successful and has higher crop yield on moderately to well drained medium-textured soils (Bitzer, 1998), compared to soils with poor internal drainage and high clay.


Landscape Management For Sustainable Supplies Of Bioenergy Feedstock And Enhanced Soil Quality, Douglas L. Karlen, David J. Muth Jr. Jan 2012

Landscape Management For Sustainable Supplies Of Bioenergy Feedstock And Enhanced Soil Quality, Douglas L. Karlen, David J. Muth Jr.

David J. Muth

Agriculture can simultaneously address global food, feed, fi ber, and energy challenges provided our soil, water, and air resources are not compromised in doing so. As we embark on the 19th Triennial Conference of the International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO), I am pleased to proclaim that our members are well poised to lead these endeavors because of our comprehensive understanding of soil, water, agricultural and bio-systems engineering processes. The concept of landscape management, as an approach for integrating multiple bioenergy feedstock sources, including biomass residuals, into current crop production systems, is used as the focal point to show …


Landscape Management For Sustainable Supplies Of Bioenergy Feedstock And Enhanced Soil Quality, Douglas L. Karlen, David J. Muth Jr. Dec 2011

Landscape Management For Sustainable Supplies Of Bioenergy Feedstock And Enhanced Soil Quality, Douglas L. Karlen, David J. Muth Jr.

Douglas L Karlen

Agriculture can simultaneously address global food, feed, fi ber, and energy challenges provided our soil, water, and air resources are not compromised in doing so. As we embark on the 19th Triennial Conference of the International Soil and Tillage Research Organization (ISTRO), I am pleased to proclaim that our members are well poised to lead these endeavors because of our comprehensive understanding of soil, water, agricultural and bio-systems engineering processes. The concept of landscape management, as an approach for integrating multiple bioenergy feedstock sources, including biomass residuals, into current crop production systems, is used as the focal point to show …